U.S. Department of Education

News about U.S. Department of Education, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 22, 2015

The Upshot; Susan Dynarski Economic View Column explores situation in which Education Dept refuses to let any outside agencies to review roughly $1 trillion portfolio of student loans, many of which appear troubled; argues that without further details, it is impossible to quantify risks born by taxpayers. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Education Sec Arne Duncan provides new data he says shows Republican proposal for reauthorization of No Child Left Behind could hurt poorer school districts; under proposed law, states could let students take their funding to public school of their choice. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

Education Sec Arne Duncan discusses Obama administration's priorities for revising No Child Left Behind law; says annual testing for students is important. MORE

Dec. 19, 2014

Obama administration will release report previewing its planned system for rating performance by colleges on aspects that include admissions standards, affordability, how student loans are handled, and how well students fare in finding jobs; Education Dept concedes project has been dauntingly complex, and remains hampered by limited availability of data; number of colleges have raised criticisms of system. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

John B King Jr will step down as New York State's education commissioner at end of year in order to take second-highest-ranking job at federal Education Dept; King has been a staunch advocate for Common Core standards and a frequent target of those who criticize them. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

Education Dept announces preliminary rules requiring states to develop rating systems for teacher preparation programs, including job placement and retention rates of graduates and the academic performance of their students. MORE

Nov. 25, 2014

Education Dept announces it will reinstate Oklahoma's waiver from key provisions of No Child Left Behind; state had lost its waiver after repealing Common Core academic standards. MORE

Nov. 11, 2014

Education Dept is directing states to show how they will ensure that all students have equal access to high-quality teachers, with sharp focus on schools with high proportion of poor and racial minorities. MORE

Oct. 29, 2014

Editorial praises guidance document sent by Education Sec Arne Duncan to states and school districts reminding them of their obligation to provide schoolchildren with equal resources regardless of race; contends guidance rightly focuses on teacher quality and says department's investigations will seek to expose school districts that unjustifiably provide minority children with ineffective, poorly trained teachers. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Education Department reports defaults on federal student loans declined in 2013 to 13.7 percent, from 14.7 percent in 2012; it is first drop in default rate in years, but 21 schools still have rates so high that they could be barred from federal loan and grant programs. MORE

Aug. 28, 2014

Louisiana Gov Bobby Jindal sues Obama administration over Common Core education standards in a move that is likely to raise his profile as he builds an expected Republican presidential campaign. MORE

Jul. 9, 2014

National Education Association, nation's largest teachers' union, passes resolution at its convention in Denver calling for resignation of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. MORE

Jun. 30, 2014

Editorial cites Education Department's draft regulations governing reporting of sexual violence on college campuses; expresses hope rules will help bring more order to related legal proceedings, offering protections to both victims and accused without unduly burdening administrators; says challenge for universities will be to strike fair balance between accuser and accused. MORE

Jun. 25, 2014

Less than a third of states and territories now comply with federal disability law under change announced in way Education Dept evaluates how well public schools educate students with disabilities; under old system, nearly three-quarters of states and territories met standards. MORE

Jun. 24, 2014

Corinthian Colleges announces that it has reached agreement with Education Dept that will allow the for-profit higher education company to receive an immediate $16 million in federal student aid funds and keep operating; operates 107 campuses of the Everest, Heald and WyoTech institutions, as well as online programs. MORE

Jun. 11, 2014

Report from Education and Justice Departments finds that colleges are more aggressive about punishing alcohol and drug offenses, even as rate of serious crime on campuses has dropped; specialists on campus safety caution crime figures should not be taken at face value, because much of decline resulted from new Education Dept guidelines on how to define most common of the serious crimes, burglary; victim advocates say many institutions are sloppy or intentionally misleading when reporting crime data. MORE

May. 9, 2014

Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr and Education Secretary Arne Duncan issue strong warning to public school districts nationwide not to deny enrollment to immigrant students in country illegally. MORE

Apr. 4, 2014

Education Dept is investigating whether Florida State properly responded to a student’s allegation that she had been sexually assaulted by star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston; inquiry is response to a complaint that Winston’s accuser filed in March with the civil rights office. MORE

Dec. 18, 2013

Op-Ed article by Bradley W Bateman, president of Randolph College, contends that Education Dept's rating of colleges and universities based on perceived value each offers is a bad idea; warns that such rankings could potentially create perverse incentives for schools; proposes instead that the federal government make available all the data it thinks is important on a searchable Web site and let consumers evaluate for themselves. MORE

Nov. 21, 2013

Department of Education, in cooperation with several other educational groups, will unveil public service campaign aimed at recruiting a new generation of classroom educators; campaign, called Teach, uses video spots and radio announcements that portray teaching as creative, invigorating and meaningful. MORE

Sep. 3, 2013

Institute of Education Sciences, little-known office in federal Education Department, is conducting randomized clinical trials of various science and math education programs to determine which are effective; researchers say that findings could be transformative for schools and students across nation. MORE

Jun. 19, 2013

Education Secretary Arne Duncan tells state education officials that they can postpone making career decisions about teachers based on performance evaluations tied to new tests. MORE

Jan. 26, 2013

Education Department's Office for Civil Rights clarifies that school districts must provide qualified students an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular athletics to maximum the extent appropriate. MORE

Jan. 16, 2013

High schools and youth sports organizations across the country are grappling with challenges in finding ways to accommodate students with disabilities; what is reasonable accommodation under the law has been debated when it comes to after-school sports; increased interest prompts Education Department's Office for Civil Rights to prepare additional guidance. MORE

Sep. 23, 2012

Editorial contends that the government must do a better job of informing students about flexible payment plans available to them under the federal student loan program; proposes several changes the Department of Education should make to the student loan program. MORE

Jul. 12, 2012

Editorial notes that federal Judge Rudolph Contreras has overturned a central provision of regulations meant to rein in for-profit schools and career training programs that bury students in debt while giving them valueless degrees or certificates; urges the Department of Education to revise the regulations and increase its efforts to make this industry accountable. MORE

Jul. 2, 2012

Federal Judge Rudolph Contreras overturns a main component of the 'gainful employment' rules introduced by the federal Department of Education in 2011; regulations were devised to prevent for-profit colleges, which get the bulk of their revenues from federal student aid, from leaving students with huge debt loads and credentials that provided little help in landing them a job. MORE

Jan. 9, 2012

Michael Winerip On Education column notes that three applications have been rejected for proposed Hebrew charter school in New Brunswick, NJ, to be called Tikun Olam Hebrew Language Charter High School, but that school has received $600,000 grant from United States Education Department; argues that there are many good reasons for state to have rejected applications and questions how school gained federal approval. MORE

Nov. 30, 2011

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, reacting to Occupy movement protests expressing anger over rising college costs, urges higher education officials to 'think more creatively' about ways to reduce net tuition costs for students and families and to make it easier to repay student loans. MORE

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